Rebuild reality and doin it right

[tbhawksfan1]

I like basket-ball a lot. Should ban the NBA and put the game back on a level playing field

[HMFFL]

There were a huge number of teams also tanking last year. Not everyone can finish last.

Sadly, many players will following the teams lead when it comes to tanking, because they feel it's job security to do so. For the role players at least.
When, in reality it's not, and the future is unknown anyway.

The league will evolve and eventually divisions will be a thing of the past.

Sent from my SM-N920P using RealGM mobile app

The only path to competitivity in a league is a hard cap. The NBA has a soft cap that allows rich teams to buy cap. It's like carbon-sharing. It doesn't reduce pollution, just allows the rich to pollute. Want to take advantage of a fixed system... buy some lux tax. it's called buying odds. You don't pay, you get the worst odds. Then this really crazy thing happens, small market (poor) teams can't compete financially and when they attempt to use the draft to try and improve by cutting some useless vets, everyone says that that isn't competing....

Like David and Goliath, but instead of encouraging David's courageous stand, people want to ban the sling....

The league has to be pleased with the current state of the league to some degree. It's profiting at all time high. While I understand you're points, I doubt the league will ever go to a hard cap, because right now three legit contenders has been but profit for the league, TV contracts, and so forth.
We'll see what the future holds.

Sent from my SM-N920P using RealGM mobile app

[HMFFL]

Now the NBA is going to allow betting on games....and make the lott more of a crap shoot giving bad teams less of a path. What's the only path to a championship? $

Yup, just more profit for the league to make. People are betting on the games already but they'll make it easier for people. The main thing customers will want is a quick withdrawal system.
I have a place in Atlanta and Las Vegas. I wager and make more on doing it than I make at my regular job that pays well and I travel with. Online wagering is nice even with offshore Books but the withdrawal process is terrible.

Sent from my SM-N920P using RealGM mobile app

[macd-gm]

Now the NBA is going to allow betting on games....and make the lott more of a crap shoot giving bad teams less of a path. What's the only path to a championship? $

Yup, just more profit for the league to make. People are betting on the games already but they'll make it easier for people. The main thing customers will want is a quick withdrawal system.
I have a place in Atlanta and Las Vegas. I wager and make more on doing it than I make at my regular job that pays well and I travel with. Online wagering is nice even with offshore Books but the withdrawal process is terrible.

Sent from my SM-N920P using RealGM mobile app

That's interesting. I know nothing. Can you explain how the withdrawal process works now?

[Jamaaliver]

Tweet of the day...from 2016 trade deadline.

Read on Twitter

Amazing to consider how the entire franchise changed course from our inactivity during this period. The following offseason, Hawks traded Teague, almost traded Millsap and saw Horford walk away in free agency over a middling amount of money.


Also, they invested heavily in Kent Bazemore and Dwight Howard. Friggin' brutal month stretch for the franchise.

[Jamaaliver]

NBA Teams That Should Tank In 2018-19

1. Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are the easiest tanker to spot, even in a weak Eastern Conference. There simply aren’t enough assets to vie for a playoff spot. Atlanta has already signaled its disinterest in competing, dealing Dennis Schroder to Oklahoma City in July. The trio of Kent Bazemore, John Collins and Taurean Prince shows some promise, but those are rotation players at best. Add in the transition from the Big 12 to the NBA for Trae Young, and this will be a rough year for the Hawks.

On the bright side for Atlanta, the Hawks could have quite the impressive draft haul in 2019. In addition to its presumed top-five selection, Atlanta could recoup picks from Cleveland and Dallas, two teams projected to finish the season outside the playoff picture.

The Hawks will need some luck to receive the selections, though, with the Mavs’ pick protected inside the top five, and the Cavs’ protected inside the top 10. Three lottery selections would be a dream come true for the Hawks, but at the very least, Atlanta will enter the 2019 draft with one top-five pick, possibly at No. 1 overall.

Sports Illustrated

[tbhawksfan1]

Looks like we can get a good idea of the kind of players, team and asset strategies TS is using by now.

Players: shooting, mobility and athleticism.

Team: Shooters, a PG play-maker that can...shoot, athleticism and bigs with size

Asset strategy: Get your player and acquire assets. Also is so in love with mentors.....

I like a lot of what he's doing. Shooting, athleticism, a PG play-maker that can shoot and BIGS. Don't like the so in love with mentors. The Lin move sucks and that he bails on players that don't fit his thing; the Schro deal sucked.

Apart from playing the draft well, his next biggest move is Prince/Collins. With who we"re going to draft and the timeline of the team's development, what does he do with them?

[jayu70]

Read on Twitter

Here is the current draft pick summary for the next seven years:

2019
First round -Own
Cleveland (if 11-30)
Dallas (if 6-30)
Second round - Own or to Washington (if 56-60)
Minnesota or Los Angeles Lakers via Cleveland (less favorable)
Charlotte

2020
First round - Own
Cleveland (11-30 if not already settled)
Dallas (6-30 if not already settled)
Second round - Own

2021
First round - Own
Dallas (4-30 if not already settled)
Second round - Own
Cleveland (if first rounder not conveyed)

2022
First round - Own
Dallas (4-30 if not already settled)
Oklahoma City (if 15-30)
Second round - Own
Cleveland (if first rounder not conveyed)

2023
First round - Own
Dallas (if not already settled)
Second round - Own
Charlotte
Right to swap Brooklyn for less favorable of Own and Charlote

2024
First round - Own
Second round - Own
Oklahoma City (if first round not conveyed)

2025
First round- Own
Second round - Own
Brooklyn
Oklahoma City (if first round not conveyed)

[Jamaaliver]

After a decade largely spent toiling in mediocrity, the Hawks are finally rebuilding in full, a process that began with a change in ownership in 2015 and continued with the hiring of Travis Schlenk last offseason.

Schlenk and the front office have established a clear vision for the team they want to build: an offensive juggernaut with shooting at all positions and an abundance of playmaking on the perimeter.

New Head Coach Lloyd Pierce will toy with different lineup combinations in Year 1 — he’ll have to fit several prospects, a few veterans and a swath of cast-offs into a crowded rotation — and should have plenty of options in the early stages of his tenure. Atlanta could have up to six picks in the 2019 draft, and with a clearer sense of direction, can focus those resources on specific kinds of players that fit its trajectory.

In the meantime, the Hawks will lose — a lot. Schlenk and Pierce say they’re measuring progress not by the marks on the scoreboard or in the win column, but by the habits the team develops through discipline and repetition. When the results do start to matter, so too will those principles. “We’re trying to do the right things as an organization and as a team that keeps our spirit high, so that when we’re in the gym, we know we’re together,” Pierce said. “It’s not just what’s going to happen on the court that’s going to determine us as a team. It’s what we’re doing as a unit, as an organization trending forward.”

With Pierce in the fold, the Hawks have taken another important step in the right direction.

Fansided

[Jamaaliver]

The Hawks are entering next season – their 50th in the city of Atlanta – with a simple but powerful mantra: “tomorrow starts today.” The Hawks have somewhat of a luxury in being able to continue to focus on the days and years ahead while shrewdly creating a roster and environment that’s an all-new venture from the norm.

The Hawks are taking an intelligent approach to their roster reconstruction under General Manager Travis Schlenk. The measured and calculated Schlenk is not swinging for the fences with any of his personnel moves, but instead is taking a long view and is carefully putting together a roster that can foster chemistry on and off the court.

For the past decade, beginning with the drafting of All-Star forward Al Horford in 20008, the Hawks have had a level of on-court success that is hard to replicate but can easily breed complacency. When the Hawks brought in Schlenk, the vision was that the team needed a fresh view with a new direction. The Hawks are of no illusions that their path back to being consistent a playoff contender will be a quick one. This new Hawks paradigm will rest on the shoulders of extremely young talented players.

Atlanta owns the Mavericks’ 2019 first-round pick that is top five protected that the team procured in the Trae Young draft night deal along with the Cavaliers first-round pick that is top-ten protected. In all, the Hawks could be looking at having three first-round picks in the 2019 NBA draft.

Deservedly so, Young will be the focus of fans and everyone who is interested in watching the fifth overall pick perform in a professional setting. It is important to note that the Hawks are not placing any pressure on Young to match his performance to his hype coming into his rookie season.

“Ten years from now we’re going to be looking back over the last ten years and we’re going to be enormously proud of the franchise that we built,” said Hawks principal owner Tony Ressler during the team’s season preview celebration.

DefPen

[Jamaaliver]

One Youtube scout already predicting RJ Barrett and Young Trae leading us to glory?!?

Watch on YouTube

If that's our core next fall, I will declare Travis Schlenk the emperor of Georgia.

[Jamaaliver]

Hawks Roster Analysis: Cap space, draft picks and 2019 free agency outlook

Salary​​ cap/CBA expert Danny Leroux is breaking down the key questions each franchise faces this season with an eye toward the intriguing 2019 offseason, including information on the Hawks’ cap space, free agents and outlook.

The 2018 off-season made it even clearer that the Hawks and GM Travis Schlenk are in the early stages of a complete rebuild. Of course, building an eventual contender using this approach requires identifying and selecting the right players and it will take time to determine whether Atlanta is succeeding on that front.

On draft night, Schlenk made a massive bet on his board by acquiring a lightly protected first round pick from Dallas to slide from No. 3 to No. 5 to pick their target: point guard Trae Young. Schlenk eventually shipped starting point guard Dennis Schroder to Oklahoma City in a move that cleared playing time for Young and long-term cap space. While the Hawks acquired Jeremy Lin and signed Vince Carter, the youth movement is on.

They have seven recent first-round picks on their roster right now and that does not include Alex Len or last year’s second-round selection Tyler Dorsey. Atlanta’s rotation should include at least one player under the age of 26 at every position, so the front office will have plenty of opportunities to evaluate talent before the 2019 offseason when they could have two lottery picks and over $40 million in cap space.


Projected Cap Space: $40-50 million

2019 Draft Picks: Own first and second if 31-55 plus Dallas’ first if 6-30, Cleveland’s first if 11-30, Charlotte’s second and the less favorable of the Timberwolves and Lakers’ seconds

Spoiler:

2019 Power Index: Atlanta will be a great test case for the current value of cap space in trades as 2019 will have many more teams with flexibility than the last two offseasons. Like this summer, they may be able to add some veterans who will help without sacrificing assets or long-term flexibility. There will be fewer expiring contracts like Lin, but some free agents who fall through the cracks would prefer a one-year deal with significant playing time to a longer contract below their market value. Atlanta is pretty clearly playing the long game but there are ways to use that to their advantage even in a more flush offseason.

Which young players establish themselves?
This season the Hawks will give recently drafted players significant opportunities, including Young, John Collins and Taurean Prince. While teams far from contention have an even clearer incentive to draft the best prospect available, how that trio fares will give the front office a better idea of how long this rebuild will take and what players are good enough to be a part of the long-term plan. For example, a strong year from Young will encourage Atlanta to add talent that will mesh with his passing and shooting sooner rather than later while a disappointing season could put the brakes on aggressively using cap space to add complementary pieces.

What is John Collins’ ideal role?
The athletic 21-year old brings even more intrigue than most talented young big men because of his uncertain role on both ends of the floor. Defensively the coaching staff will have to figure out whether his athleticism can be better used as a rim-protecting center or a switch/help defending power forward, though he should be able to provide value as a rebounder at either spot. Collins also showed a few flashes of a capable long-range shot last season and that may become necessary because he was a sporadic and ineffective post-up scorer in his rookie year. The twin questions of whether Collins projects as a starting-caliber player and what type of player makes sense next to him will be important next summer with Atlanta’s combination of draft picks and cap space.

How does Lloyd Pierce fare as a head coach?
The best-case scenario has Pierce as a selling point for free agents very quickly, akin to Brad Stevens on the Celtics and Steve Kerr on the Warriors. It typically takes more time than it did for those two but even a more modest start could provide positive signs for the team moving forward. Pierce has spoken about the importance of defense and developing strong instincts in his young core would pay dividends for years to come, especially since players like Young can benefit from developing good habits on that end of the floor early in their career. It will likely take longer than just this season to feel confident in whether or not Pierce is the right coach for the Hawks but he will have an outsized impact on the present and future of the franchise starting immediately.

The Athletic

[Jamaaliver]

Will Your NBA Team Be Better or Worse Off in 5 Years?

Atlanta Hawks: Better



The Atlanta Hawks may come to regret trading back and drafting Trae Young instead of taking Luka Doncic. The latter has the look and feel of a transcendent cornerstone. Even if Young's best-case scenario comes to pass, the Hawks still might wind up on the wrong end of that deal.

But their trajectory does not hinge on one hit or miss. They have their hands in enough opportunities to brighten up their outlook through opportunistic volume.

Young and John Collins are two potential headliners for Atlanta. Taurean Prince should not be precluded from joining those ranks. At least one of DeAndre' Bembry, Kevin Huerter and Omari Spellman could turn into something notable, too.

Beyond that, the Hawks should retain open-ended access to max cap space for as long as they please. They'll have no trouble getting there next summer, and their most expensive pacts will be off the books by the time they need to re-invest in one of their kiddies.

Toss in as many as eight first-round picks through 2023, including what could be three selections in 2019 alone, and the Hawks will be just fine. The bar for advancement isn't high relative to the current product, but they're equipped to aim for so much more than default improvement.

Bleacher Report

[Jamaaliver]

It’s not exactly right to say that the franchise’s future is riding on Young becoming a star. It’s not exactly wrong, either. Young is the first draft lottery selection for general manager Travis Schlenk, who has engineered a losing-for-picks rebuilding strategy.

Schlenk has done what he can to smooth Young’s path. He’s tried to reassure Young that he was the team’s top choice in the draft. Schlenk has asked fans to have patience with Young while emphasizing that he’s just one piece [to] a long-term puzzle.

But Schlenk, maybe more than anyone, needs Young to be a good rookie. Tanking takes a toll on revenues, the team’s brand and, potentially, its culture. Patience is finite. Remember that ex-76ers GM Sam Hinkie, chief architect of that franchise’s famed “Process,” wasn’t around to see his plan pay early dividends last season.

Eventually the Hawks need to sell hope to customers disillusioned with the losing, and free agents looking for a good franchise to join. An exciting rookie point guard with superstar potential would be a good pitch for both groups.

AJC

[tbhawksfan1]

Time for a little progress eval. Looking at TS's main moves thus far....

Collins is a great pick at #19. Even though TS differs as he was only a month into the job, I'll give him the pick.

Didn't like the 2017 summer. The DH trade was necessary but we took it in the ... FA signings were bad except for Dedmon and I think he shoulda been moved last Deadline. Last draft was loaded, we should have gone all in. Dedmon surprised and re-upped so... move him before the deadline...

Trae is my guy and happy to have him. Coulda had Doncic though. Trae and DAL FRP should make TS look good on this one... I hope.
Heurter, sure. He's looking good. Spellman ...OK. My gripe with the draft was not optimizing assets to go all in on this nice draft. Moves coulda been made to consolidate and move into better position after our first pick.

Len was a nice signing. He's the low cost signing I wanted and he's good for the money and can grow or be traded. Nice signing.

Schro deal was a mess. Hawks/TS let the bottom fall out on his value, drafted a PG #5, futhur devaluing his value and traded him for nada.

Lin. TS's disaster. I'll leave it at that. Coulda been a 2019 FRP

[Jamaaliver]

Tryin’ for Zion: The juxtaposition of some Hawks fans hoping for losses



Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk doesn’t even like to label the current status of the team as a rebuild. So you certainly won’t hear anyone inside the organization publicly refer to tanking – the process of losing to get a better draft position.

However, there is a segment of the fan base that wants to see the team lose to get a top draft pick next year. Social media is abuzz with mentions such as “Tryin’ for Zion” in reference to Duke’s Zion Williamson, one of several freshman for the Blue Devils considered destined for the NBA next year.

What is there to make about the notion of fans openly rooting for their team to lose?

Schlenk and previous front offices began gathering draft picks as a method to improve the team. The Hawks could have as many as three first-round picks again next year. The Warriors, winners of three of the past four NBA championships, largely were built through the draft. They have become the standard and the model of NBA success.

While the Hawks rebuild through the draft, there have been teams whose process can be described only as a tank. Vince Carter said he saw it first-hand as a member of the Kings last season. He signed with the Hawks in the offseason to be a mentor for a young team. Carter is not a proponent of the strategy.

“Doing that develops bad habits,” Carter said. “There becomes a conflict the next year when you are trying to win from the bad habits of trying to lose. You are trying to develop players, but at the same time, when it becomes game time, we need you to go out there and play the right way. The next year fans are wondering why isn’t [our] team good. It’s because the mentality has changed from the year before when you were trying to lose..."


“I don’t deal with anyone who wants to see us lose,” Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. “I don’t know who those people are. I deal with the guys in here. These guys are working. Ain’t no one in here trying to lose. These guys are working. Every single one, you look over and it’s attention to detail, extra time. This has nothing to do with losing. It has everything to do with growth and development.”

myAJC

[jayu70]

I don't root for a loss during a game....I'm just ok with it when the game ends.

[graymule]

Time for a little progress eval. Looking at TS's main moves thus far....

Collins is a great pick at #19. Even though TS differs as he was only a month into the job, I'll give him the pick.

Didn't like the 2017 summer. The DH trade was necessary but we took it in the ... FA signings were bad except for Dedmon and I think he shoulda been moved last Deadline. Last draft was loaded, we should have gone all in. Dedmon surprised and re-upped so... move him before the deadline...

Trae is my guy and happy to have him. Coulda had Doncic though. Trae and DAL FRP should make TS look good on this one... I hope.
Heurter, sure. He's looking good. Spellman ...OK. My gripe with the draft was not optimizing assets to go all in on this nice draft. Moves coulda been made to consolidate and move into better position after our first pick.

Len was a nice signing. He's the low cost signing I wanted and he's good for the money and can grow or be traded. Nice signing.

Schro deal was a mess. Hawks/TS let the bottom fall out on his value, drafted a PG #5, futhur devaluing his value and traded him for nada.

Lin. TS's disaster. I'll leave it at that. Coulda been a 2019 FRP

IF LIN IS A DISASTER, I'LL TAKE SOME MORE!

[tbhawksfan1]

Time for a little progress eval. Looking at TS's main moves thus far....

Collins is a great pick at #19. Even though TS differs as he was only a month into the job, I'll give him the pick.

Didn't like the 2017 summer. The DH trade was necessary but we took it in the ... FA signings were bad except for Dedmon and I think he shoulda been moved last Deadline. Last draft was loaded, we should have gone all in. Dedmon surprised and re-upped so... move him before the deadline...

Trae is my guy and happy to have him. Coulda had Doncic though. Trae and DAL FRP should make TS look good on this one... I hope.
Heurter, sure. He's looking good. Spellman ...OK. My gripe with the draft was not optimizing assets to go all in on this nice draft. Moves coulda been made to consolidate and move into better position after our first pick.

Len was a nice signing. He's the low cost signing I wanted and he's good for the money and can grow or be traded. Nice signing.

Schro deal was a mess. Hawks/TS let the bottom fall out on his value, drafted a PG #5, futhur devaluing his value and traded him for nada.

Lin. TS's disaster. I'll leave it at that. Coulda been a 2019 FRP

IF LIN IS A DISASTER, I'LL TAKE SOME MORE!

Yeah OK, Lin and TS seem to be making me look bad on this ....BUT Lin only reprenents 14M in cap space that could of gotten a FRP to me. As long as he doesn't contribute to Hawks slidding out of a top pick and TS can swing him for a ....FRP I'll be all good

[Jamaaliver]

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